PARADE DAY: By now, even the holdouts who insist that holidays should be celebrated in the order in which they appear on the calendar have to come to terms with the fact that Christmas is here.

And nothing drives that fact home any harder in our little part of the world than the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade, which takes over Second Street Saturday night, starting at 6 p.m.

Technically, the parade, which draws 60,000 people to the Shore, takes over Second Street at 5 p.m., when it's closed to traffic.

In the olden days of the Shore, people would reserve curbside spots by hauling out folding chairs and coolers early in the afternoon. Lately, John Law has been cracking down on the practice, and people aren't allowed to set up before 5 p.m. If you do, the police will haul your stuff off to the Bayshore Library at the east end of Second Street, across from the bay. You can pick it up after the parade. And if it happens again, we'll call your parents and maybe you can explain to them the difficulty you have obeying the rules.

The parade will be held regardless of the whims of weather, so you might want to bring someone along to hold an umbrella over your head.

The parade heads east from Livingston Avenue to Bayshore Avenue and returns back west on the other side of the street.

You're on your own for parking (we say helpfully). Side streets off Second will be closed from Second to the alleys. But if you're not afraid to walk a few blocks, parking meters are free after 3 p.m. in the Ocean Boulevard lot near the Belmont Plaza pool.

CHOW WITH CLAUS: The most important meal of the holiday season is breakfast with Santa. Parkers' Lighthouse is hosting Santa, who, if you've ever seen him, is no stranger to the breakfast table, on Saturday morning, with food being served from 8 until 11 a.m.

The "Breakfast With Santa & Toy Drive" breakfast benefits Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, and some of the children from the hospital will be enjoying breakfast and watching Miller's whale mascot Millie greet Santa as he docks in front of the restaurant in Shoreline Village.

Breakfast is $8.95 for adults; $6.95 for children under 12. Walk-ins are cool, but reservations are highly recommended. Call 562-432-6500, or check www.parkerslighthouse.com.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!: Another seasonal kickoff event comes this evening at 6 with the Pike at Rainbow Harbor Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on South Pine Avenue.

The bash includes the lighting of the official Downtown Long Beach tree by Santa, carols sung by the Lakewood High School Madrigal Choir and, to help explain to Fox News commentators why the season is sometimes called "the holidays," the unveiling of the menorah and Kwanzaa displays.

FRIDAY PLAYLIST: The worst part of the holiday season is the fact that you start hearing "The Little Drummer Boy" being played again in malls, grocery stores and wherever ambient music is thrown at you. There may be some disagreement, by people who are wrong, about whether that song is the worst of all yuletide carols. OK, we will entertain the nomination of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

As for the best songs, that's more of a horse race. You've got your secular standards, which are among the most beautiful of all songs, and then there are the nice wistfully romantic ballads and your pop, rock and blues classics. For playlists to take us out of the year, send us your favorite and least favorite songs, and, please, no novelty tunes. Most of those are too lousy to even rise to the worst-carols chart. Send your picks by email to the address at the tail of our column. And here's a random collection to get you in the mood:

1. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," Darlene Love

2. "Silent Night," Sufjan Stevens

3. "Hallelujah Chorus," Opera Company of Philadelphia

4. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,)" the Polyphonic Spree